Southwest Airlines has made changes to the earning structure for its Rapid Rewards frequent flyer program. The changes are effective immediately and came with no advance notice.
Rapid Rewards points earning calculations have changed dramatically with the lowest level, Wanna Get Away, fares dropping by 67%. Overall, the changes are as follows:
- Wanna Get Away: Moves from 6x points per dollar to 2x points per dollar.
- Wanna Get Away Plus: From 8x points per dollar to 6x points per dollar.
- Anytime: Fares will continue to earn 10x points per dollar.
- Business Select: From 12x points per dollar to 14x points per dollar.
No matter how you slice this, this is a massive devaluation for the Rapid Rewards program. Southwest has long been a quirky airline but passengers kept coming back due to its friendly policies and staff.
Now, Southwest is undergoing massive changes due to an activist investor that has taken a major stake in the Dallas based carrier. Over the past few weeks the carrier has closed crew bases and announced layoffs for the first time in company history.
I recently took a trip with Southwest and, while I rarely fly with the airline due to its check-in and open seating policies, I was considering flying with them more as they are planning a move towards assigned seating and offered a very reasonable Companion Pass offer.
Now, with these changes, I may have to consider re-evaluating the airline altogether. I’ve never booked anything higher than a Wanna Get Away fare with the airline as they don’t differentiate the product enough to warrant spending more money. While Business Select comes with things like a free alcoholic beverage and A1-A15 boarding, I can get the same offerings much cheaper via my Rapid Rewards credit card.
These changes, coupled with Delta’s expansion in Austin and American and United’s nearby global hubs, may be enough to get me to quit flying with the airline entirely. With the value of Rapid Rewards points tagged to a dollar value, these changes essentially make it 3x harder for me to earn enough points to redeem for a flight.
Honestly, I don’t see the long term play here for Southwest. Maybe there isn’t one. Elliott is clearly doing whatever it takes to squeeze the most money it can out of the airline in the short term and, while I am a fan of some of its moves, I fear we won’t recognize Southwest once this is all said and done.
Summary
Southwest Airlines has just made a massive change to its Rapid Rewards loyalty program that will have a negative effect on passengers. The carrier is slashing earnings for its Wanna Get Away and Wanna Get Away Plus fares in an effort to get passengers to book more expensive offerings though I fear it will cause travelers to move away from the airline.
Kudos to fellow BoardingArea site, View from the Wing, for flagging this.
Southwest, really? Plan on losing customers! Plan on customers going to other airlines and getting their new credit cards. I’ve been flying with your airlines for years. I’m disabled and still fly to see my daughter and granddaughter in Honolulu. Also please have connecting flights to Honolulu. You have decent flights when we island hop why don’t you fly from Buffalo to Honolulu?
Agreed on everything you said, but a 737 Max 9 only has max range of about 3,300nm…. You can go KBUF-KHOU-PHNL with southwest.
Great Circle Map link: http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?R=3300nm%40KBUF
Southwest doesn’t fly the Max 9. Every city they serve can’t have direct flights to HI. Lol
Ahh yes, fat fingers over here. Thanks!